1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for storing items and more specifically to a storage device specifically designed for storing magnetic information recording media.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The burgeoning data processing industry has created a significant demand for devices on which information can be stored. It is inefficient to utilize the permanent memory of data processing apparatus for storage of data and information. Therefore, the main thrust has been towards improvement and increase in removable permanent storage media.
In the early days of the computer industry, most of this information was stored on computer cards. However, these cards were bulky and inefficient. The rapidly improving technology of magnetic storage media has provided a far superior method of permanently storing information than on the old computer cards. Consequently, the currently most common media for information storage are magnetic tape, either in reel-to-reel or cassette mode; cards coated with magnetic materials (mag cards); and magnetic disks, that is, platters coated with magnetic materials which are designed so as to be rotated in the same manner as a phonograph record for easy access to information contained at any point on the surface of the disk. The disks are either "hard" that is rigid like a phonograph record or "floppy" flexible disks. Floppy disks are ordinarily contained in semi-rigid disk packs. Each of these media appears in various sizes.
One of the difficulties which has arisen regarding such information storage media is the method of storing the tapes, cards or disks themselves in an efficient and protective manner. The information contained on the media surfaces is subject to loss if the surfaces are unprotected while in storage. Consequently, it is necessary to store the media in environments protected from abrasion, dust, other corrosive elements and, at times, from strong magnetic fields. Furthermore, as time goes by, the pure volume of magnetic storage media in existence increases. This multiplication of magnetic media elements requiring easy access storage necessitates compact and efficient means for storage of large volumes of the different media.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to provide effective storage devices for the information containing media. Three of these are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,937, issued to Van Wyngarden et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,337 issued to Manheim, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,222 issued to Kuntze. Each of these patents describes an attempt to store a type of magnetic information media in a well protected, but yet relatively compact manner.
However, several difficulties remain which have not been cured by prior art attempts such as these. The described prior art tends to be rigid in its application in that each type of container in the art is restricted to a certain individual type of media. Another common disadvantage is that the prior art devices are not always amendable to volume storage in that they either do not stack compactly or else need external support to overcome instability caused by a smooth slidable interface between adjacent devices. In volume situations, access to the media is often restricted. Furthermore, the prior art attempts have frequently been unduly complex, expensive and difficult to manufacture. No prior art device effectively provides economical and simple protection for a wide variety of information media while further providing for easy stacking and efficient storage of large numbers of devices themselves.